"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated...

I hold that, the more helpless a creature, the more entitled it is to protection by man from the cruelty of man." -Mahatma Gandhi-

COME SIT WITH ME

Author Unknown

I am your dog, and I have a little something I'd like to whisper in your ear.

I know that you humans lead busy lives.†

Some have to work, some have children to raise.

I always seems like you are running here and there, often much too fast, often never noticing the truly grand things in life.

Look down at me now, while you sit there at your computer.† See the way my dark brown eyes look right at yours?† They may be slightly cloudy now.† That comes with age. The gray hairs are beginning to ring my soft muzzle.

You smile at me; I see love in your eyes.† What do you see in mine?† Do you see spirit?† A soul inside, who loves you as no other could in the world?† A spirit that would forgive all trespasses of prior wrong doing for just a simple moment of your time?†

That is all I ask.

To slow down, if even for a few minutes to be with me.

An Open Comment from the President of Companion Connection

I still remember the day I became a murderer. I was ten; it was summer; it was hot; daddyís pickup didnít have an air conditioner. As we often did on Sunday afternoon, we were out riding around on the country roads near Staples, Texas. Daddy had his .22 caliber single shot rifle resting in the headache rack in back of the bench seat. His pickup didnít have a radio in it either, so we were talking about nothing in particular. Just enjoying the summer day.

Daddy pulled off of the road. A beautiful dove was perched on the telephone wire beside the pickup. Daddy challenged me to try to shoot it. I hadnít ever shot a gun before. He told me how to use the sights on the rifle. Being a rank beginner, I didnít have an expectation of hitting anything, but itís funny sometimes how life most important lessons come at the most unexpected times. I aimed like he said and slowly pulled the trigger. I was still looking through the sights, when I saw the birdís head turn to a red dust. The remainder of the doveís body fell lifeless to the ground just a few feet from the truck. Everything happened so fast that I doubted that the poor bird felt any pain, but I felt an emptiness in my heart that has never left me. I still regret that I took that one shot.

Since 2009, when my wife and I started Companion Connection, I have had opportunities to refill the emptiness in my heart with the satisfaction of helping abused and/or neglected animals in the Elgin area. Unfortunately, working in the animal rescue world is not all happy endings and we get to see some of the ugliest beginnings.

Our latest ugly beginning started when we received a call from a woman in Rockdale about a dog that had wandered into her yard. She had been feeding the stray dog and providing her with water. She was concerned because there seemed to be something wrong with one of the dogís rear legs. We agreed to meet her and take care of the dog. This rescue is a 9-month-old Blue Heeler mix that we have named Trinity.

Trinity did have something wrong with one of her legs. The left rear thigh bone was broken completely in half. The top half of the bone pointed forward and put a 3 inch bulge in her skin. Those of you who have ever broken a bone, know how excruciatingly painful that must have been for Trinity. She spent four or five months hobbling around trying to feed herself and find shelter from the rain and heat. No animal should have to endure that pain, loneliness and helplessness. Amazingly, after all that she didnít wince when I touched her, she put her face in my hand so I could pet her head and neck. When I moved back she followed and leaned her head on my leg patiently waiting for another warm, loving touch from her new human.

After a visit to the veterinarian surgeon, we found that the break was an old one Ė probably 4 months old. The bones were so calcified that there was no way to mend the break. The only remedy was to amputate her leg.

So whatís my point in all this? In the past year or so, I have tried to provide the readers of the Elgin Courier some of the knowledge about animals that I have gained in my journey with Companion Connection. Even with the knowledge of animal behavior that I have gained, I still cannot understand the capacity of the human animal to cause or ignore excruciating pain in the pets that love them dearly and devote their lives to making their human happy and content.

This ugly beginning will have a happy ending, because one person recognized that an animal needed help and took the time to make a few phone calls. While I set here and ponder the dark side of human behavior, I am thankful that there are still the good ones out there that will help an animal in trouble. My heart feels a little fuller because of you.

We are a non profit

organization.† Please make a tax deductible† donation† today!

See that bulge?† Can you see it?† Just about the center of the thigh.† That is a femur (thigh) bone!† It is broken and protruding forward!!!† Notice how there is no broken skin?† That is because this happened so long ago, the body has healed around this broken and dislocated bone!!!† After receiving a cry for help from a concerned Good Samaritan, we scooped her up and took her to Veterinary Surgical Solutions where Dr. Lewis took x-rays and confirmed our fears.†† Her thigh bone was broken and dislocated so long ago that it has serious bridging callus (an unorganized network of woven bone formed about the ends of a broken bone) built all around it which means it cannot be re-broken and set correctly!

Yes, this poor 9-month old puppy lost her leg!† It was amputated and she is in recovery now (Wednesday August 5).

Before taking her in for surgery, this darling of a girl needed some routine veterinary care, so we took her to Elgin Family Pet Center where she got a lovely "spa" day.†

We all celebrated the finding that she is heartworm negative!† And further diagnostic tests showed only one type of internal parasite!†† But she did have ear mites, fleas and ticks.† So, she of internal parasite!†† But she did have ear mites, fleas and ticks.† So, she was bathed, all the nasty fleas and ticks were removed, she received dewormer and given not just the required rabies vaccines, but all vaccines a dog should have to lead a healthy life (rattlesnake, canine flu, bordetella, Lepto, and DAPP).† She was like a new girl going to prom!†

Trinity is an absolute love of a dog.† All she wants is to be near you and know she is safe and loved.† That leg break must have been extremely painful when it happened and it hurts to think what she must have endured as it healed incorrectly.† Even after such neglect, she trusts people and greets everyone with kisses.†

She is now back at Companion Connection for healing and an abundant amount of tender loving care.† She will need medical rechecks, follow-up x-rays, vaccine boosters and later on, spay.† And we are getting a special harness to help her learn to balance without that leg.

We have no idea where she originally came from (no microchip), where she had been, how her injuries occurred, or how she had been surviving for nine months.† But we do know that now she will be well loved and we will do our utmost best to find her just the perfect home.†

Meanwhile, we sure could use help in funding her medical bills.† Her routine care ran a bit over $200, the harness was $60 and her surgery is estimated to be around $1,250.00.†

And if you think you might be interested in giving this living doll her forever home, or perhaps an exceptional foster home, contact Companion Connection at VillageRescue@gmail.com or call 512-285-5620.† Donate via YouCaring https://www.youcaring.com/trinity-female-blue-heeler-mix-407261 or on our website via PayPal† (See Gold Button)